Listen to “America 250 Reminds Me of ‘Lusty’ John” on Spreaker.
America is approaching 250 years old — a quarter of a millennium. Still young compared to many nations, still engaged in the great experiment of self-governance.
As July 4 approaches, Americans will rightly remember Washington, Adams, Jefferson and the rest of that rebellious gang — men despised by King George III and likely near the top of his hanging list. Yet what a legacy. What a nation they built. As romantic as it is patriotic.
But while celebrating the country and its founders this year, it’s worth remembering others just as pivotal, though largely unknown and under appreciated – at least you may think so at first.
John Howland boarded a ship as an indentured servant to future Plymouth governor John Carver. Carver’s name may sound familiar — he became the first governor of Plymouth Colony. The ship, of course, was the Mayflower.
Why Howland was there is not entirely clear. Little is known about his early life beyond the fact he was born in the 1590s and somehow entered Carver’s service, as recorded by William Bradford in Of Plymouth Plantation.
In this case, why Howland was there may matter less than the fact he was.
Bradford recorded this account:
“In a mighty storm, a lusty (strong, energetic in that era’s language) young man called John Howland… was thrown into sea, but it pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail halyards which hung overboard… till he was hauled up… and though he was something ill with it, yet he lived many years after and became a profitable member both in church and commonwealth.”
Bradford, understandably, lacked the luxury of hindsight.
Howland married Elizabeth Tilley around 1623 or 1624. He became a pillar of the colony, signed the Mayflower Compact and, by all accounts, prospered. Together, John and Elizabeth had 10 children and eventually 88 grandchildren. Today, historians estimate more than two million Americans descend from the couple.
The ripples are astonishing.
In Casablanca, Rick looked at Ilsa and said, “Here’s looking at you, kid.” The line wasn’t even in the script. Humphrey Bogart improvised it. Had Howland drowned that stormy day, there would have been no Bogart — and perhaps no iconic line to help define one of Hollywood’s greatest films.
Chevy Chase delivered the very first “Weekend Update” on Saturday Night Live. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow gave America poetry that still resonates generations later.
Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt helped shape American history. So did George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.
The music of Mary Chapin Carpenter. The acting of William H. Macy. The words and philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The leadership of Continental Congress President Nathaniel Gorham. Renowned physicians, artists, historians, jurists… the list is long.
All these people and many more part of the same family tree. All descendants of John Howland.
Ponder how different America might look had Howland never boarded the Mayflower — or slipped beneath the waves that stormy day.
Then consider this: we all create ripples. Some immediate. Some not fully understood for generations.
As we prepare to celebrate the country and who we are as a people, remember that providence often disguises itself as coincidence. Realize this too: you may be one of John Howland’s ripples yourself — unique, consequential and maybe just as defining as those names history remembers a little more easily.
And perhaps, just perhaps, thinking about Howland will also remind us how interconnected, how close we all really are compared to how far apart we may sometimes seem.